It's the type of event he could only dream of as a car-obsessed kid in country Queensland. Now he's one of the hundreds of people who'll be drag-racing down the streets of his hometown this Easter.
abc.net.au/news/rockynats-rebuild-street-drag-race-car/102184630Dave Casey's little four-wheel drive has seen plenty of action — deep gullies, steep hill climbs, big rocks and loads of mud.
The three-day car bonanza is expected to attract more than 50,000 people to dozens of events ranging from burnouts, drag racing and drifting, to a pin-up competition and live entertainment. Rockhampton Regional Council signed a five-year contract to host the event, as an extension of Summernats in Canberra and Red CentreNATS in Alice Springs with the inaugural festival running in 2021.At 16, he raced in winch challenges in the same four-wheel drive he's now re-built and ramped up for this year's street drags.
But nothing beats the feeling of competing in your hometown, one of the reasons Casey is so proud to see Rockynats growing each year. Casey expects his little red four-wheel drive will surprise a few people in the drag races now it's been fitted with a high horsepower motor that "should pop".Ongoing economic impact
"It's the busiest time of the year for us … and the flow-on effect of that carries you through the year," he said."There are more old cars getting built in central Queensland now than there has been for the last 20 years at least."Leading up to this year's event, Mr Duffy said has completed four complete re-trims – equating to about four months' work – and has "patched up probably 20 cars".
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